South Africa's 800 km-long southern Great Escarpment hosts numerous endemic plant species only known from their type specimens or from very few records. This is a legacy of a 100-150 year lag between the pioneer work of 19(th) century botanists and repeat fieldwork in the 21(st) century. As a result, population and ecological data are lacking for many local endemic species. Here we report on th...

Dioxygenase, Flavonoid Biosynthesis, Flavonols, Matthiola incana Soluble enzyme preparations from flower buds of Matthiola incana catalysed the conversion of dihydrokaempferol to kaempferol and of dihydroquercetin to quercetin. The reaction required 2-oxoglutarate, ascorbate and Fe2+ as cofactors and had a pH-optimum at about 7.0. Highest enzyme activity was already present in the youngest buds...

Anthocyanins, Flavonoids, Biosynthesis, Flavanon 3-Hydroxylase, Flavonoid 3'-Hydroxylase, Matthiola incana Enzyme preparations from flowers of defined genotypes o f Matthiola incana contain two dif­ ferent hydroxylases for hydroxylation of naringenin in the 3and 3'-position, respectively. The 3-hydroxylase is a soluble enzyme and requires as cofactors 2-oxoglutarate, Fe2+ and ascorbate. Besides...

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains five class III homeodomain-leucine zipper genes. We have isolated loss-of-function alleles for each family member for use in genetic analysis. This gene family regulates apical embryo patterning, embryonic shoot meristem formation, organ polarity, vascular development, and meristem function. Genetic analyses revealed a complex pattern of overlapping func...

1 Heavy metal tolerance and accumulation in Matthiola flavida, a novel Iranian lead hyperaccumulator 2 The candidate was financially supported by a scholarship from the

We report here the whole-genome sequence of Nostoc cycadae strain WK-1, which was isolated from cyanobacterial colonies growing in the coralloid roots of the gymnosperm Cycas revoluta It can provide valuable resources to study the mutualistic relationships and the syntrophic metabolisms between the cyanobacterial symbiont and the host plant, C. revoluta.

Anthocyanins, Flavonoids, Chalcone Synthase, Genetic Control, Matthiola incana Chalcone synthase activity was demonstrated in enzyme preparations from flowers of defined genotypes of Matthiola incana (stock). The product formed from 4-coumaroyl-CoA and malonylCoA was naringenin and not the isomeric chalcone, because chalcone isomerase was also present in the reaction mixture. Chalcone synthase ...